Yesterday we went to Chawama Compound hoping that we’d be able to meet with the parent disability advocacy group that formed there a few years ago after we worked with Fr. Patrick (the parish preist at the time) to announce a meeting at the church. Unfortunately signals were corssed and the word was never spread that we were going to have a meeting with the group yesterday so it is rescheduled for tomorrow, late morning. As long as it gets announced, I have no doubt these parents will arrive.
I was however completely taken aback by the Chawama compound. This is a huge housing area in Lusaka with nothing but dirt roads and mostly very small housing structures made with cinder blocks, dirt floors and tin roofs made from scraps found here and there. Last time I was there we witnessed the burning down of a community block of vendors who have made make shift store fronts out of which they sold various goods. One day there were hundreds of vendors and the next day they were all burned to the ground. Two years later a SPAR grocery store, Bata shoe store and PEP exist in this same exact area. Also several bank ATM machines. I could not believe it and am not sure how I feel about it. I’d feel better about it if it were Zambians doing the development but it seems many South African store chains are coming into the country. Good? Bad? I am not sure. Just very different then two years ago.
As I am sitting here and writing this (at about 6:30am local time on Sunday) from a distance I am listening to a church choir sing. Outside the door the pigs are grunting, the turkeys squawking and the birds have many voices. Last night Casey came over and we played Scrabble together. His Mom (he refers to Mikala as his Mom – she is his Great Aunt and is raising Casey) stayed up half the night one day playing Scrabble on my iPad. I am preparing Casey to compete with Mikala and beat her at this game – he thinks that is funny.
1 comment:
Amy, thanks for the updates. I remember the day we saw the burning of the markets and how we felt. I also have seen the development of the area. I too am not sure what I think but I do know that the South African countries do hire local Zambians as their employees. Now there is arguments that they are not paid well etc...some of these issues are universal. But in the past two years I have seen an emerging middle class which I did not see the first 4 years visiting and working in Zambia. Thanks again for the great updates.
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